Robert Raymo Papers
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Robert Raymo was an internationally renowned scholar of medieval English literature who spent the majority of his academic career at New York University. Professor Raymo chaired NYU's English Department (1969-1972) and Dramatic Literature Department (1969-1974) and served as the founding director of NYU's Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program. He also served as dean of NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Science from 1974 to 1979. His collection consists of scholarly books and book chapters Raymo either authored or edited, as well as numerous bibliographic and research materials Professor Raymo kept throughout his academic career. His papers also include correspondence with prominent writers and scholars, administrative reports and texts related to his service at NYU, and numerous inscribed and annotated books and offprints pertaining to his involvement in medieval literature circles.
Biographical Note
Robert Raymo (1925-2009), a scholar of medieval English literature, served the majority of his academic career at New York University. He arrived at the University in 1964 as a professor of English and was named professor emeritus in 2002. Raymo chaired NYU's English Department (1969-1972) and Dramatic Literature Department (1969-1974) and served as the founding director of NYU's Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program. He also served as dean of NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Science from 1974 to 1979.
Born in Pelham Manor on January 23, 1925, Raymo earned a B.A. at Fordham University in 1945. He received a scholarship from the American Academy of Classical Studies in Rome and a grant in aid from Columbia University to continue his studies at the graduate level. He received an M.A. in English from Columbia University in 1947 and used his two consecutive Fulbright Awards (1949-1957) for research to earn a doctorate at Cambridge University in 1953 in medieval and modern languages. He began his academic career in 1953 when he was appointed an instructor of English at the University of California at Los Angeles. Two years later, UCLA appointed him assistant professor of English, a position he held until 1957, when he joined the faculty at Rutgers University. By 1960 Raymo attained a full professorship at Rutgers, leaving 4 years later (1964) to join the NYU English faculty at the Graduate School of Arts and Science. In 1964 he also received the Lindback Foundation Award for Excellence and Distinguished Teaching and the Rutgers University Alumni Distinguished Teacher Award.
Raymo's administrative career with NYU encompasses his responsibilities as Head of the All-University Department of English, a post that discontinued in 1972 as a result of sale of the University Heights Campus in the Bronx. In 1969 he was named Chairman of the Department of English at Washington Square College, a position he retained with the merger of NYU's entire undergraduate and graduate faculty at the Washington Square Campus in 1973. He also served as a member of NYU's University Senate from 1969-1972, representing the interests of Washington Square College. From 1971 to 1973, he sat on the Budget Committee and advised the Chancellor on University budgetary policy. For several months he also served as member of the Committee on the Financial Emergency where he reviewed and commented on the 1972 Report of the Task Force, offering independent suggestions to improve the University's financial situation.
As a linguist and manuscript editor, Raymo focused his academic pursuits on medieval English literature of the 14th and 15th centuries and on works of Chaucer. As a book collector, he held memberships at both the Grolier Club, where he curated an exhibit of his collection commemorating the 600th anniversary of Chaucer's death, and the Lotos Club. During the last years of his life, he worked on compiling a comprehensive bibliography of Chaucer editions from 1447 to the present, based largely on his private collection. Raymo died on July 16, 2009 of cancer at New York City's Calvary Hospital.
Arrangement
The collection was kept in its original order arranged in six series:
I. Publications and Related Bound Materials
II. Research Materials
III. Administrative Papers
IV. Personal Papers
V. Memorabilia
VI. Annotated Texts and Inscribed Volumes
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a number of publications that Raymo authored, contributed to, or edited, as well as multiple bibliographical texts relating to "Manuscripts of Religious and Philosophical Instruction," his chapter in Manual of Writings in Middle English vol. 7 (1986). His other publications include: two manuscript copies of his 1953 dissertation, The Mirror for Fools By Nigel de Longchamps. A Translation into English with an Introduction and Commentary; Speculum Stultorum, ed. John H. Mozley and Robert R. Raymo (Berkeley, 1960) – a critical edition of the Latin text; and A Mirror for Fools: The Book of Burnel the Ass, trans. John H. Mozley – English translation, (2 hardcover copies (Oxford, 1961) and 1 softcover (University of Notre Dame Press, 1963)).
Also included are annotated secondary material, notes, and photocopies of scholarly articles relating to Raymo's work on The Mirror for Fools/Speculum Stultorum (1953 – 1963), "Middle English Works of Religious and Philosophical Instruction" (1986), The Mirroure of the Worlde (2003), and "Sources and Analogues of the General Prologue," in Sources and Analogues of the Canterbury Tales, Vol. 2 (2005). For his authoritative chapter "Middle English Works of Religious and Philosophical Instruction" in A Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050-1100, Vol. 7 (1986), Raymo compiled 1800 bibliographic entries gleaned from his research in approximately 250 western European and American libraries. He recorded many of his bibliographic findings on the index cards and notebooks contained within this series.
Materials include correspondence, and notes and articles relating to the John Donne Colloquium Raymo conducted at the Grolier Club, award certificates and scholarship letters he received over the course of his career, various offprints signed by authors, a published schedule of the 38th International Congress on Medieval Studies listing two sessions honoring Professor Raymo, a pewter plate celebrating the 90th Anniversary of NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Science, and annotated texts and books inscribed to Raymo. As a bibliophile and book collector, he specialized in the works of Chaucer and curated an exhibition of his collection at the Grolier Club (of which he was a longtime member) in 2000 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Chaucer's death. This series reflects his affinity for book collecting, and includes a number of annotated texts and inscribed books and offprints Raymo acquired through his various associations in medieval scholarship circles, spanning the years 1928 – 2007.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Conditions Governing Access
Administrative records and unpublished reports of New York University are closed for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation. Access to files spanning multiple years will be opened to researchers based on the date of the most recent materials. Board of Trustees records are closed for 35 years from the date of creation. Materials related to personnel, grievances, job and fellowship searches and applications, and all files that fall under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are permanently restricted. Additional restrictions may apply to other materials in this collection. For questions regarding specific restrictions, please contact the University Archives.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Robert Raymo Papers; MC 214; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was transferred to the University Archives by Professor Raymo's wife, Judith Raymo, in 2010. Accretions to the collection were donated in July 2021 and November 2022. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 10.017, 2021.031, and 2022.092, respectively.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The processor maintained original order and retained the folder titles created by Raymo, namely in Series II, Subseries IIA. through Subseries IIC., and in Series IV., Subseries IVA. In 2019, materials were rehoused by Preservation and sent to offsite storage. The 2021 and 2022 accretions to the collection were rehoused in archival boxes, maintaining the original folders and order of materials. Materials for these accretions were intellectually arranged into Series IID. and IIE.
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series I. Publications and Related Bound Materials, 1926 - 1967, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series I includes a number of publications that Raymo authored, contributed to, or edited, as well as multiple bibliographical texts relating to "Manuscripts of Religious and Philosophical Instruction," his chapter in Manual of Writings in Middle English vol. 7 (1986). His other publications include: two manuscript copies of his 1953 dissertation, The Mirror for Fools By Nigel de Longchamps. A Translation into English with an Introduction and Commentary; Speculum Stultorum, ed. John H. Mozley and Robert R. Raymo (Berkeley, 1960) – a critical edition of the Latin text; and A Mirror for Fools: The Book of Burnel the Ass, trans. John H. Mozley – English translation, (2 hardcover copies (Oxford, 1961) and 1 softcover (University of Notre Dame Press, 1963)).
Subseries IA: Mirror of Fools/Speculum Stultorum (1960)
Language of Materials
Dissertation: The Mirror for Fools By Nigel de Longchamps. A Translation into English with an Introduction and Commentary , 1953, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Mirror of Fools By Nigel de Longchamps. A Translation by Robert Raymo, Vol. 2, annotated Ph.D. dissertation., 1953, inclusive
Language of Materials
Nigellus De Longchamp Dit Wireker, Universite libre de Bruxelles. Travaux de la Faculte de philosophie et lettres,t. 16, 1959., 1959, inclusive
Language of Materials
Nigel de Longchamps Speculum Stultorum, Edited by J.H. Mozley and R. R. Raymo. (2 copies), 1960, inclusive
Language of Materials
A Mirror for Fools: The Book of Burnel the Ass by Nigel Longchamp. Translated from the Latin with Introduction and Notes by J. H. Mozley with Illustrations by Eve Graham. Hardcover with dust jacket ( Basil Blackwell, 1961), 1961, inclusive
Language of Materials
A Mirror for Fools: The Book of Burnel the Ass by Nigel Longchamp. Translated from the Latin with Introduction and Notes by J. H. Mozley with Illustrations by Eve Graham. Softcover (University of Notre Dame Press, 1963); with bookplate of P. E. Beichner (author of Preface), 1963, inclusive
A Syllabus of Comparative Literature, 1964, inclusive
Language of Materials
Subseries IB. "Manuscripts of Religious and Philosophical Instruction," (edited by Robert Raymo) in Manual of Writings in Middle English vol. 7 (1986)., 1926 - 1955, inclusive
Language of Materials
Lists of manuscripts formerly in Peterborough Abbey Library, 1926, inclusive
Language of Materials
A Bibliography of Fifteenth Century Literature, 1928, inclusive
Language of Materials
Medieval Texts and Their First Appearance in Print , 1943, inclusive
Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society, (2 copies, for the years 1949 and 1950), 1949 - 1950, inclusive
British Museum: The Catalogues of the Manuscript Collections, 1951, inclusive
Traditio: Studies in Ancient and Medieval History, Thought and Religion, 1948, inclusive
Series II. Research Materials, 1967 - 2005, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series II includes annotated secondary material, notes, and photocopies of scholarly articles relating to Raymo's work on The Mirror for Fools/Speculum Stultorum (1953 – 1963), "Middle English Works of Religious and Philosophical Instruction" (1986), The Mirroure of the Worlde (2003), and "Sources and Analogues of the General Prologue," in Sources and Analogues of the Canterbury Tales, Vol. 2 (2005). For his authoritative chapter "Middle English Works of Religious and Philosophical Instruction" in A Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050-1100, Vol. 7 (1986), Raymo compiled 1800 bibliographic entries gleaned from his research in approximately 250 western European and American libraries. He recorded many of his bibliographic findings on the index cards and notebooks contained within this series.
Subseries IIA. Research for Mirror of Fools/Speculum Stultorum
Language of Materials
Additional MSS of Speculum, 1995, inclusive
Recent Additions on Speculum Stultorum and Satire – Horace, undated
Language of Materials
Recent Additions on Speculum Stultorum and Satire – Satire References, 1961, inclusive
Language of Materials
Subseries IIB. Research for "Manuscripts of Religious and Philosophical Instruction," (edited by Robert Raymo) in Manual of Writings in Middle English vol. 7 (1986).
Language of Materials
List of Manuals and Miscellany #1-3, undated
Language of Materials
Cambridge – Eta to Zeta and #3, undated
Language of Materials
Oxford, Edinburgh, London (BM), 1980, inclusive
Language of Materials
London & Oxford – Alpha & Epsilon [Manuals of confession in French], undated
Language of Materials
Notes on confessional manuals, undated
Language of Materials
Translations – Misc., 1983
Language of Materials
Verse Tracts on the Sins, undated
Language of Materials
Drury's Tractatus de Modo Confitendi, undated
Language of Materials
Middle English Version of Prone & Profitable Table of Feythe, undated
Language of Materials
Robbins' Supplement, undated
Language of Materials
Penitential Literature, undated
Language of Materials
ALS from Nancy Regalado, 1988, inclusive
Language of Materials
Catalogue of Manuscripts for Manual – Index Cards, undated
Language of Materials
Catalogue of Manuscripts for Manual - Index Cards (continued), undated
Language of Materials
Subseries IIC. Research for The Mirroure of the Worlde (2003)
Language of Materials
Scrope's will (search for) and Sir John Falstof (stepfather and soldier in War of Roses), undated
Language of Materials
Sir Stephen Scrope – translator of Mirroure of the Worlde, undated
Language of Materials
Authorship – Mirroure and other works, undated
Language of Materials
Scrope's Replycaciones and Addits, undated
Language of Materials
Richard II's court culture – articles, undated
Language of Materials
Mirroure-addenda, undated
Language of Materials
Translation of Latin MS of Martin of Tours, undated
Language of Materials
14th and 15th Century England – Articles and Notes, undated
Language of Materials
Correspondence and Reviews - Mirroure, undated
Language of Materials
J'ai tout perdu – notes and translations, undated
Language of Materials
Mirroure – Glossary draft (ca. 500 pages), undated
Language of Materials
MSS (microfiche) - Humbert (Sermons and status) (Oversized), undated
MSS (microfiche) - Gilbert de Tournay (Oversized), undated
Language of Materials
Subseries IID. Research for "Sources and Analogues of the General Prologue," in SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF THE CANTERBURY TALES, VOL. 2 (2005)
Language of Materials
Clerk, undated
Cook, undated
Franklin, undated, inclusive
Friar, undated
Guildsmen, undated
Knight, undated
Manciple, undated
Merchant, undated
Language of Materials
Miller, undated
Monk, undated
Nun's Priest, undated
Pardoner, undated
Parson, undated, inclusive
Physician, undated
Plowman, undated
Language of Materials
Prioress, undated
Reeve, undated
Sergeant at Law, undated
Shipman, undated
Squire, undated
Squire/Yeoman, undated
Summoner, undated, inclusive
Wife of Bath, undated
Yeoman, undated
Portraits – General, undated
Date of General Prologue, circa 1950s-2008, inclusive
Manuscript Drafts, 1990-2008, inclusive
Chaucer Bibliography, circa 1950s-2008, inclusive
Chaucer -- General, circa 1950s-2008, inclusive
Langland and Chaucer, circa 1950s-2008, inclusive
Bibliographic Research, circa 1990s-2009, inclusive
The Book of Daun Burnel the Ass (Nigellus Wireker), 1959
Notebook, circa 1990s-2009, inclusive
Index Cards, circa 1990s-2009, inclusive
Subseries IIE. General Middle English Research
Scope and Contents
This series consists of handwritten notes and photocopies of journal articles concerning Medieval and Renaissance literature and poetry.
Articles, Notes, circa 1950s-2008, inclusive
Notebooks, circa 1950s-2008, inclusive
Series III. Administrative Papers, 1966 - 2002, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series III encompasses Raymo's administrative responsibilities at NYU as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science and thereafter, and includes reports he authored on undergraduate and graduate education at the university, as well as well as books on graduate education.
Appointment as Dean & Deans Annual Reports., 1975 - 1978, inclusive
C.P. Snow Address, 1976, inclusive
Task Force on Quality of CAS, 1989, inclusive
"The Doctorate at NYU", 1991, inclusive
Language of Materials
Curriculum Vitae and professional Statement, 2002, inclusive
An Assessment of Quality in Graduate Education (Book)., 1966, inclusive
A Century of Doctorates (Book), 1978, inclusive
The State of Graduate Education (Book), 1985, inclusive
Series IV. Personal Papers, 1932 - 2008, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series IV consists of correspondence, and notes and articles relating to the John Donne Colloquium Raymo conducted at the Grolier Club, as well as award certificates and scholarship letters he received over the course of his career.
Subseries IVA. Correspondence, 1957 - 1991, inclusive
Language of Materials
Saul Bellow (5/10/74), 1974, inclusive
Language of Materials
Germaine Bree (5/29/76), 1976, inclusive
Language of Materials
Jane E. (12/7/78), 1978, inclusive
Language of Materials
Terri Schultz (7/7/78), 1978, inclusive
Language of Materials
Seymour Lipset (2/7/74), 1974, inclusive
Language of Materials
Ernest van den Haag (2/10/61), 1961, inclusive
Language of Materials
John Canaday (1/19/61), 1961, inclusive
Language of Materials
John Gassner (1/28/61), 1961, inclusive
Language of Materials
Hugh MacDiarmind aka Christopher Grieve (8/13/60), 1960, inclusive
Language of Materials
Rhoda Coghill (10-6-60), 1960, inclusive
Language of Materials
A. I. Doyle (11/5/91), 1991, inclusive
Language of Materials
Richard W. B. Lewis (2/7/57), 1957, inclusive
Language of Materials
Richard W. B. Lewis (2/21/57) – postcard, 1957, inclusive
Language of Materials
N. Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie (1/29/80), 1980, inclusive
Language of Materials
N. Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie (3/28/80), 1980, inclusive
Language of Materials
Emmanuel Le Roy Lladurie (6/5/80), 1980, inclusive
Language of Materials
Subseries IVB. John Donne Colloquium – Notes and Articles, 2008, inclusive
Language of Materials
Notes on John Donne, undated
Poems – A reading of Donne, undated
Chronology and Illustrations, undated
Miscellaneous Reviews and Articles, undated
Language of Materials
"John Donne's Marriage Letters...", 2005, inclusive
Language of Materials
Subseries IVC. Awards and Scholarships
Language of Materials
Childhood Effects, 1937, inclusive
Language of Materials
Fulbright Award letters, 1949, inclusive
Language of Materials
Lindback Excellence in Teaching Award – Rutgers, 1964, inclusive
Language of Materials
Fordham University Distinguished Alumni Award
Language of Materials
Festschrift – Satura edited by R.E. Sternglantz and N. Reale (on shelf in Library)
Language of Materials
Series V. Memorabilia
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series V includes various offprints signed by authors, a published schedule of the 38th International Congress on Medieval Studies listing two sessions honoring Professor Raymo, and a pewter plate celebrating the 90th Anniversary of NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Science.
Offprints Signed by Authors, 1947-1986, inclusive
38th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2003, inclusive
Language of Materials
Pewter GSAS 90th Anniversary Plate
Language of Materials
Series VI. Annotated Texts and Inscribed Volumes
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series VI includes annotated texts and books inscribed to Raymo. As a bibliophile and book collector, he specialized in the works of Chaucer and curated an exhibition of his collection at the Grolier Club (of which he was a longtime member) in 2000 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Chaucer's death. This series reflects his affinity for book collecting, and includes a number of annotated texts and inscribed books and offprints Raymo acquired through his various associations in medieval scholarship circles, spanning the years 1928 – 2007. The dates presented in Series V. represent the books' copyright dates. Inscribed/signed books have the date of inscription on the folder title.
An Introduction to Bibliography (Inscribed, 8/1990), 1928, inclusive
Language of Materials
Beowulf and Epic Tradition, 1928, inclusive
Language of Materials
Beowulf, 1941, inclusive
Language of Materials
Medieval Libraries of Great Britain, 1941, inclusive
Language of Materials
Medieval English Verse and Prose, 1948, inclusive
Language of Materials
Medieval English Verse and Prose, 1948, inclusive
Language of Materials
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Fragile Spine.
Traditio: Studies in Ancient and Medieval History, Thought and Religion, 1948, inclusive
Language of Materials
Virgil's The Aeneid, 1958, inclusive
Language of Materials
John Gower: Moral Philosopher and Friend of Chaucer, 1964, inclusive
Language of Materials
Lydgate Poems, 1966, inclusive
Language of Materials
English Medieval Graffiti (Inscribed, 1975), 1967, inclusive
Language of Materials
Morte Arthure (Annotated Teaching Text), 1967, inclusive
Language of Materials
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 1968, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Kingis Quair of James Stewart, 1973, inclusive
Language of Materials
A Check-List of Middle English Prose Writings of Spiritual Guidance, 1974, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Canon of Sir Thomas Wyatt's Poetry, 1975, inclusive
Language of Materials
Sir Gawan and the Green Knight, 1975, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Divine Comedy of Dante Aligheri: Inferno, 1982, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Divine Comedy of Dante Aligheri: Purgatorio, 1984, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Oxford Book of Late Medieval Verse and Prose, 1985, inclusive
Language of Materials
Augustine, 1986, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Divine Comedy of Dante Aligheri: Paradiso, 1986, inclusive
Language of Materials
Warrenpoint, 1990, inclusive
Language of Materials
The Riverside Chaucer (Raymo's annotated teaching text)., 1987, inclusive
Language of Materials
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Taped at the spine – Raymo removed the spine initially so that he could bring select pages of the text to class.